The medieval fortification of Mașloc, known as the 'Șanțul Turcilor' (Turkish ditch) is one of the best preserved archaeological sites in the Banat region, Romania. To reconstruct the subsurface archaeological features at the Mașloc site we combined three different geophysical methods: magnetometry, ground-penetrating radar (GPR) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) and we used SfM (structure-from-motion) to achieve a detailed digital elevation model and an orthophoto mosaic also. Six hectares were investigated by magnetometry in order to define the basic outline of the medieval settlement, which gradually developed around the fortification. Several GPR and ERT profiles were constructed over the ramparts and ditches of the fortification to determine their extent and the internal structure of the ramparts, ditches and the houses within. The interpretation of these profiles shows for the first time the existence of a second ditch around the fortification: this is not visible in the field. The geophysical mapping precisely identifies the dwellings within the site, which shows the spatial organization of the village. Houses were developed along its main street, oriented northeast-southwest (NE-SW), which were constructed using well-established rules and must have been planned by a local administration. Such organization demonstrates the importance of the village in medieval times, due probably to its location near to the road between two important towns: Timișoara and Lipova. The geophysical results now allow us to associate this settlement with the lost Machalaka, an important village mentioned in the medieval documents. The geophysical investigation demonstrates how this method can delineate village boundaries and the planimetry of internal archaeological features.

To understand the functioning of fluvial systems it is important to investigate dynamics of sediment transport and the source of sediments. In case of reconstructing past processes these studies must be accompanied by the numerical dating of sediment samples. In this respect optically stimulated luminescence is a widely used technique, by which the time of sediment deposition can be directly dated. Recently, in various fluvial environments it has been shown that certain luminescence properties of minerals, and especially that of quartz, can be applied as indicators of fluvial erosion and/or sediment provenance. These properties are residual luminescence (or residual dose) and luminescence sensitivity of quartz grains. However, the values of the parameters above are affected by various factors, the importance of which is under debate. The present study therefore aims to assess these factors along a ~560 km long reach of River Mureş (Maros) a relatively large river with a compound surface lithology on its catchment. The research focused on the sandy fraction of modern sediments, collected from the main river and from three tributaries alike. This way not only longitudinal downstream changes, but the influence of tributaries could also be studied. Based on the data, both investigated parameters show a great variation, which can be attributed to the lithological differences of subcatchments and geomorphological drivers, such as erosional activity and potential number of sedimentary cycles, and human activity. However, relationships are not entirely clear and are influenced by the maximum grain size of the samples investigated, and the recycling of previously laid deposits with different properties. Still, when performing detailed dating studies, and tracing sediments from certain parts of the catchment luminescence properties can be a useful tool in the future.

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This study presents a new way to reconstruct the extent of medieval archaeological sites by using approaches from the field of geoinformatics. Hence, we propose a combined use of non-invasive methodologies which are used for the first time to study a medieval village in Romania. The focus here will be on ground-based and satellite remote-sensing techniques. The method relies on computing vegetation indices (proxies), which have been utilized for archaeological site detection in order to detect the layout of a deserted medieval town located in southwestern Romania. The data were produced by a group of small satellites (3U CubeSats) dispatched by Planet Labs which delivered high-resolution images of the Earth’s surface. The globe is encompassed by more than 150 satellites (dimensions: 10 × 10 × 30 cm) which catch different images for the same area at moderately short intervals at a spatial resolution of 3–4 m. The four-band Planet Scope satellite images were employed to calculate a number of vegetation indices such as NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), DVI (Difference Vegetation Index), SR (Simple Vegetation Ratio) and others. For better precision, structure from motion (SfM) techniques were applied to generate a high-resolution orthomosaic and a digital surface model in which the boundaries of the medieval village of “Șanțul Turcilor” in Mașloc, Romania, can be plainly observed. Additionally, this study contrasts the outcomes with a geophysical survey that was attempted inside the central part of the medieval settlement. The technical results of this study also provide strong evidence from an historical point of view: the first documented case of village systematization during the medieval period within Eastern Europe (particularly Romania) found through geoscientific methods.